Simon Glass

Simon Glass Simon Glass is a vastly experienced consumer goods industry and supply chain expert who has been at the coalface of supply chain automation for nearly 20 years. In that time he has worked with industry giants such as The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) and The Gillette Company in the US and Canada. At P&G, where he was a leader in its Global Data Management organization, he managed a number of global business transformation initiatives, such as the establishment of an end-to-end Data Management and Governance program. He was also the leader of P&G’s Global Data Synchronization program and managed P&G Canada’s data management team. At Gillette he managed strategy and global roll-out for Global Data Synchronization, and the implementation of a global data quality program. Before that he spent eight years at PricewaterhouseCoopers where he led a number of supply chain process improvement projects and SAP implementations for Fortune 500 companies in the US. Glass has also participated in several consumer packaged goods and supply chain industry initiatives on Data Management. In 2005 he led a Global Commerce Initiative project to illustrate the business benefits of Global Data Synchronization and he was the manufacturer co-chair for the establishment of the GS1 Data Quality Framework. He was P&G’s representative for the 2006 industry report, “Synchronization – The Next Generation of Business Partnering” and subsequent to that he was a member of the GDSN Inc. advisory group.

Author Archive

Is your data ready for selling online?

Wednesday, December 7th, 2011

My colleague Garry Moroney asked the very pertinent question “Is your data ready for Global Data Synchronization?” in a recent blog – Given the massive rise in online sales during the recent holiday period in the US there is an equally burning question to be asked about whether your data is ready to sell on-line?


So-called Cyber Monday – the online equivalent of Black Friday – saw online sales grow 22 per cent to $1.25 billion, according to research firm comScore, to become the biggest online shopping day in history and the second day on record to surpass the billion-dollar threshold. More than $15 billion has already been spent online during this year’s holiday season – a 15-percent increase versus the corresponding days last year.


That’s impressive, but there is evidence that shows it probably could be better (more…)

Clavis Data Visibility at UConnect Live 2011

Friday, May 27th, 2011

Clavis Technology will have a significant presence at the UConnect Conference in Orlando, Florida next week. For the past 10 years the UConnect Conference has been a gathering place for companies at the forefront of using GS1 Standards to achieve supply chain optimization.


This year the focus is on value chain visibility. In particular how GS1 Standards provide opportunities for companies to reach consumers over new channels and win their confidence and loyalty while improving efficiency and trading partner relationships, which makes it an opportune time for Clavis Technology to attend.


Why? Because value chain visibility is all about how much you can trust your data. You might say information visibility is the foundation on which to build everything else – you need to know how good, bad or indifferent your data is before you can honestly answer deeper questions about supply chain efficiency and oversight.


The state of your data is a leading indicator that points to other problems in the supply chain. If you have an issue with your data you need to know sooner rather than later, because if left unaddressed it will quickly start to cause problems in the supply chain, in warehouses and on retail shelves.


If you have a problem with data you need to know, and if you are about to have a problem with data you need to know. You need visibility to show where poor quality data is causing inefficiencies and breakdowns in the supply chain.


And that’s what our focus is at Clavis Technology – providing the tools that enable suppliers, retailers, distributors and data pools to see just how good or bad their data is in terms of conformance with GS1 data standards, and much more …


Come and visit us at Booth 113 at UConnect Live 2011 to find out more.

What do the world’s largest eCommerce sites say about you and your products?

Thursday, November 4th, 2010

With websites rapidly becoming the shop window, and shop floor, for many retail outlets how do suppliers know their products are properly represented and described on the endless array of eCommerce sites that customers use in the 21st century?


The term “looking for a needle in a haystack” comes to mind; some retailers and eCommerce sites have so many products listed it impossible to find, let alone keep track of what they are all saying about your products. Is the product description correct or even close to it? Are the dimensions right? Are all the appropriate nutritional statements or product warnings clear and accurate?


Suppliers put a lot of effort into getting all this information clear and accurate on their product packaging. But online shoppers aren’t able to physically see and hold the products to read packaging information before they buy. The data as presented by the online retailer is their only guide and if some of the data is missing, incomplete or incorrect it can cause problems. Missing or incomplete data is like the online equivalent of a store out-of-stock, resulting in missed sales opportunities. At the same time if the data is incorrect it can lead to an increase in the number of complaints and unwanted returns.


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You Need Data Quality Metrics in Your Supply Chain Dashboard to Get the Full Picture

Wednesday, September 15th, 2010


Every morning supply chain directors at consumer packaged goods companies logon to their dashboards to see what has happened over night. On a good day most indicators are green; manufacturing plants are producing and delivering goods to the targets set, and those products are making their way through the supply chain to distribution centres and retail shelves around the world.


But why are customers still complaining? Why are there so many out-of-stocks and is there more efficiency to be squeezed from the system? Is the data right? It’s difficult to answer these pressing questions because few supply chain dashboards, and certainly none that I’ve come across, include a realistic KPI for Data Quality, despite the growing importance of data in managing the modern supply chain.

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Can CPG suppliers keep up with retailers’ data requirements?

Tuesday, August 24th, 2010

There’s been a common thread running through retailers’ presentations at a number of supply chain industry events I’ve attended this year in the US and Europe; retailers are hungry for much more product data, and the quality of the data really matters.


The drivers for the expanding requirements are well known: demand for data, such as nutritional information and product specifications driven by the consumer; environmental, packaging and legal information required by government and regulatory bodies; and of course data designed to improve supply chain effectiveness. But I’m still struck by the unrelenting nature of retailer demands and I have to ask the question, will suppliers be able to cope?

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Product Data Quality and Other Essential Links in the CPG Supply Chain

Wednesday, August 18th, 2010

Hi, my name is Simon Glass; I joined Clavis Technology a couple of months ago from The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) where I worked in the consumer packaged goods giant’s Global Data Management organization. I also spent a number of years working at The Gillette Company in the US and Canada, and before that as a consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers.


Throughout my career I’ve focused on supply chain effectiveness and the part high quality product data plays in streamlining consumer products distribution and supply. And that’s what I’m going to focus on here at Clavis Technology. (more…)